UPDATE: Grounded Vessel Refloated and All Safe, No Damage

The Coast Guard says the crew of Northern Song successfully refloated the grounded, 84-foot charter vessel Friday morning and there were no injuries, damage or pollution reported.

Coast Guard public affairs Charly Hengen said the Petersburg-based boat went aground early Friday morning in Deep Cove on the southeast side of Baranof Island in Lower Chatham Strait,

“And it was reported from the master that they were anchored in deep cove and during low tide the anchor just drug and the vessel just went soft aground.

Hengen said the master contacted the Coast Guard on channel 16 at about 4:20 Friday morning. He reported the vessel was aground with seven passengers and four crew on board. Hengen said a helicopter from Air Station Sitka and the cutter Naushon responded to the call as the Northern Song’s crew took the passengers to shore,

“The passengers donned their survival suits and they took a small inflatable liferaft to shore. The helicopter crew transited over there, landed on the shore and took the passengers aboard and they took them safely back to Sitka. And there was no reported injury. The master of the vessel and the three crew stayed aboard the Northern Song and it was refloated at about 9:15 this morning with no reported damage or pollution.”

Hengen said the Northern Song was headed for Petersburg under its own power and the cutter Naushon was scheduled to meet up with the vessel at some point.

The Northern Song is a steel-hulled yacht constructed in 1997 and owned by Dennis Rodgers and Alaska Sea Adventures of Petersburg. The company had another grounding incident with a previous vessel, the 60-foot Alaska Adventurer, in Late January, 2010 near Holkum bay South of Juneau. That vessel was not carrying passengers at the time, but it was seriously damaged and the crew was rescued by the coast guard after abandoning ship.